Paris, July 22 (AFP): A fire broke out today on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, firefighters said, with clouds of smoke seen billowing into the sky.

Police said the entire tower was immediately evacuated, and there were no injuries from the fire caused by a short circuit on the third floor of the tower.

Pictures shown on French television station LCI showed smoke pouring from the top story on the 324-metre landmark, France’s best-known building visited by some six million visitors a year.

Paris’ city hall, which operates the tower, said the fire broke out in an elevator at the top where television and radio transmitters are located. The monument, opened in 1889, was until 1929 the world’s tallest tower.